President Biden Visits Ukraine
Ask Students: Where is Ukraine? And what part of Ukraine did President Joe Biden visit? What did Biden announce the U.S. the discuss on his visit to Ukraine?
Summary
President Biden made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday just days ahead of the one year anniversary of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine. The administration says it informed Moscow before Biden arrived for the first visit by a U.S. president to Ukraine in 14 years.
For a transcript of this story, click here.
Discussion Questions
- Who are the individuals and groups featured in the story?
- Where is Ukraine? What part of Ukraine did President Joe Biden visit?
- What did Biden announce the U.S. the discuss on his visit to Ukraine?
- When did Biden visit Ukraine?
- Why did Biden visit Ukraine at this point in time?
- How might Biden’s trip affect how people view the war in Ukraine?
Focus Questions
Do you agree with the decision for the U.S. to spend tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine? Do you think it was important for President Biden to visit Ukraine?
Media Literacy: What are few aspects of the war in Ukraine that you didn’t know before this story? What questions do you have after watching it?
Additional Exercise
Find out more about the federal government’s budget and how much goes to defense spending, including the war in Ukraine. You can start with this website. What sticks out to you?
Now think about this: The U.S. has spent $113 billion on the war in Ukraine. In 2019, the U.S. government spent $14.2 billion to feed 4.9 billion school children in America, according to the Department of Agriculture. What issues are important to you? Student loans? Health care? Gun violence? Immigration? Climate change? How much would it cost to address these and other major issues facing America today? Who decides where to spend the money and how much?
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Republished with permissino from PBs NewsHour Classroom.
PBS NewsHour Classroom helps teachers and students identify the who, what, where and why-it-matters of the major national and international news stories.
